Farm Diary

Signs of spring are everywhere at Little Comfort, tadpoles have emerged from their jelly bubbles, primroses are blossoming and we’re witnessing all sorts of territorial displays from spiralling ravens to stunning flashes of colour from our kingfishers who nest by the lake. Gurtie our goose has been busy laying eggs although she’s not too good at staying put and sitting on them, she’s more interested in sunbathing and eating. We’re wondering whether we need to provide her with a nanny hen although this may encourage her diva like behavior.

Behind the scenes we have been super busy updating, planning, researching and redecorating and those who have been to us before will notice a few upgrades in the cottages including new bouncy sofas and tvs to mention a couple. We have had drones buzzing around the farm taking amazing shots for our new website which is well underway (coming soon!). The big upgrades of course will come next winter and we have been having fun planning every little detail with an ever expanding team which now includes an accessibility advisor as we hope to make some of our cottages sanctuaries for those with mobility, hearing and visual disabilities too.

Along with Gurtie, Jodie also laid an egg about 9 months ago (and sympathises with Gurtie’s appitite for food and sunshine) and we are very excited to be expecting our first baby any day now! We did promise baby animals in Spring and Jeremy intends to strap our miniature farmer into a sling most mornings to take part in the morning routine!

If you are thinking of visiting us this year we’d love to see you. If you are tied by school holidays, we still have some limited availability at Easter, May half term and during the Summer Holidays – have a look at our availability calendar and book quickly as we expect these cottages to go soon!

A very Happy New Year to all our guests, past, present and future! 2017 was certainly a year of change for Little Comfort Farm and for us as its new owners. On reflection, it has been the biggest challenge both Jeremy and I have ever faced and I think it’s safe to say nothing could have prepared us for what lay in store!

On arrival in May, we found ourselves in a new part of the world, with a new house, new careers and 53 animals. We inherited a summer full of bookings and a fantastic team that kept us afloat! A huge thank you to our dedicated housekeeping team, Caroline for bringing order to the office and farm shop, Steve for keeping the lawns looking green and trim, neighbouring farmers for their help and advice, our hens for all the delicious eggs and our ruby red cattle, welsh lleyn sheep and west of England geese for their tireless conservation grazing efforts.

We have had some truly lovely guests who we were delighted to meet and share the farm with. Our guests are paramount to our efforts here to conserve the farm and all the wildlife it supports. We heartily thank you for your encouragement, shared passion for Little Comfort and understanding, particularly as we tried to figure out the workings and quirks of our holiday cottages, which were converted a few decades ago from stone farm buildings by a wonderfully eccentric man, Rolf Alvsaker of whom we have heard many tales! Again perhaps a special thank you should be given here to the electricians, plumbers, engineers, architects, planners, neighbours, friends and family (to name a few) who have helped us in times of need!

Having spent the last 15 years studying and working professionally as ecologists, we were absolutely enchanted by Little Comfort Farm and we still are. The valley is an absolute treasure trove for wildlife. We are truly excited about the future of the farm, and were delighted to receive full planning consent for our work to the holiday cottages which is due to commence later this year! Hello 2018, we can’t wait to see what you have in store 🙂

A lot! We are thrilled to have so many bookings already for next year and if you are one of our booked guests, or thinking about joining us for a holiday, here’s what you can expect.

What animals can we expect to see?

Lover of everything and everyone, our vizsla puppy Roux who likes to play the pulling out grass game with the sheep, lick the cattle’s noses and bury apples. Closest to the cottages and providing us with delicious organic eggs, we have our free ranging flock of multi-coloured hens and Robert Redford, our rooster. Near them in the orchard we have our genteel white geese, and freely roaming around our meadows are Welsh Lleyn sheep and our small herd of beautiful devon ruby red cattle, an ancient breed native to North Devon. Expect some new baby animals in spring – watch this space!

One of the most magical things about Little Comfort Farm is the outstanding biodiversity it supports, as a result of the range of habitats in our farm valley. Meadows, floodplain, dense hedgerows, ancient woodland, river, lake, ponds, traditional stone walls and cottages…a nature lover’s dream! Hares, otters, badgers, moles, voles, bats (want to see a barbastelle roost?), birds (oh the birds, nesting kingfishers, dippers, flycatchers, woodpeckers, owls, ravens, buzzards, a medley of songbirds, a resident heron…), an outstanding array of moths, butterflies, dragonflies, beetles, bees, slow worms, toads, not to mention all our underwater creatures, newts and fish in such good condition some are now on show at Ilfracombe Aquarium!

What is happening with the cottages?

All our cottages will be available from now until 1 September 2018. This winter our cottages will be deep cleaned, steamed, repainted, restocked with equipment and refurnished with new sofas, beds, televisions and more. Fully refreshed and revitalised for 2018. Look out for a Little Comfort jumble sale!

In a previous farm diary we touched on the serious refurbishments which are now due to commence on the 1st September 2018. We will be closed through to spring 2019 to let our team of builders, carpenters, decorators, designers, engineers and architects work their magic 😀

What activities can we get involved in on the farm?

Join Jeremy in the mornings to wake up the geese, feed the chickens and collect the eggs. On request he will also do an extended morning session to include a farm tour, pointing out the multitude of nature of the farm, our conservation goals and will help you to discover some magical parts of the farm. Our course fishing lake will be open throughout and exploring our wildlife trails will be as magical as ever.

Tell me about the farm shop – can you pre-stock my cottage?

Yes! We have a farm shop selling our own organic, free range, grass fed meat and eggs, ready meals, apple juice and jams and whole host of other goodies. We are supplied by a range of fantastic local producers and will send out a Little Comfort shopping list prior to your arrival so you can order any of our produce in addition to organic fruit, vegetables and dairy.

No need to worry about deliveries or unpacking, we will take care of everything so that you find your kitchen pre-stocked with delicious food that is sourced as locally and ethically as it is possible to get!

What else?

Expect a few more surprises around the farm, some of which we will reveal in coming months, and some we will keep secret for you to discover when you are here!

Should I book a holiday at Little Comfort in 2018?

Yes! The beauty of Little Comfort is that you can mould your holiday into exactly what you want it to be. Immerse yourselves in the activities on the farm and leave knowing the names of all the chickens, set up a rug in the riverside meadow and spot the amazing array of butterflies, fish in the lake, have a bbq feast with our well reviewed steaks, burgers and sausages, have a picnic on the top of the world surrounded by stunning views or stay in your cottage and snuggle up with a duvet, cosy wood fire and a good book. If you have time, of course there’s all the beaches, biosphere reserve, stunning restaurants and gastropubs, golf courses, horse riding, gardens, historic houses a plenty on our doorstep to name a few.

If you have any more questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch, otherwise we look forward to seeing you soon! x

The wheels are in motion! On Monday we finally put in our application for the cottage refurbishments which we hope to start in September 2018 and finish by Spring 2019. We have spoken to many of our guests about our plans at various design stages and we have had lots of suggestions which we hope we have incorporated to make the cottages irresistible! Have a look at the proposed floorplans below and let us know what you think.

We have worked hard with our architects to bring what are effectively traditional stone farm buildings into the 21 st century whilst preserving their character which is so much loved by our guests. Our goal is to make the cottages as energy efficient as possible, reducing our carbon footprint and making the whole site more accountable for its energy consumption. We are stripping out all five cottages, vaulting ceilings, triple glazing and enlargening windows, insulating internal walls, refitting kitchens and bathrooms and introducing heat recovery ventilation systems. We plan to heat all the properties using a biomass boiler and provide electricity from solar power. Every detail has been decided based on sustainability and wellbeing (and of course we have designed in lots of enhancements for biodiversity including lots of batty features!). The cottages will have come a long way from their agricultural barn roots!

Fundamentally, we hope to be a fine example of a traditional, organic farm that has embraced modern building technology to become self sufficient, environmentally responsible and in harmony with its beautiful surroundings, establishing Little Comfort Farm into the future.

The start of the summer holidays brought the usual summer rain but it didn’t stop us packing our wellies for a week of fun down at Little Comfort Farm.

In the space of a week, and under the expert guidance of her Auntie Jodie and Uncle Jeremy, my increasingly adventurous two-year-old came face to face with a swallow chick who was having trouble staying airborne, fed chickens and collected their eggs, patted lambs, spotted several fish cruising around the lake and learned to differentiate a blue tit from a woodpecker. Not to mention getting deliriously happy and mucky splashing in puddles and building castles in the sandpit by the river.

Given the time of sunset at this time of year, sadly she wasn’t able to stay awake for Jeremy’s bat walk but the other lucky children staying at Little Comfort that week were treated to sightings of the farm’s nocturnal residents and a cup of hot cocoa round the campfire. The calls of the owls and night jar didn’t wake her either so we all slept very soundly with the trickle of the River Caen in the background.

Instead, she saved her energy for a bracing walk along the glorious beach at Saunton Sands, where she collected an impressive selection of rock pool and shoreline treasures. On and off came the rain coat but we were noticeably over dressed compared to the classes of older children learning to surf that day.

As we drove down to visit Jodie and Jeremy this time, the media reported on the latest study to conclude that the public are losing touch with nature and the countryside. A shockingly high percentage of those questioned were apparently unable to identify an oak tree or a barn owl and a third said that they did not know enough about nature to teach their children.

We are so lucky that our daughter will have the opportunity to experience so many wonderful adventures in nature at Little Comfort Farm. Jodie and Jeremy have an infectious enthusiasm for wildlife and numerous ideas about how to further improve the natural habitat of their little slice of the countryside. It’s a work in progress but with so much to offer already, I for one can’t wait for our next visit.

Next week we are very excited to be welcoming back a regular guest who happens to be a lepidopterist (a good tongue twister after a few sloe gins…!). To be a lepidopterist you have to have a fantastic memory, a very keen eye for detail and delicate fingers. We have great respect for these naturalists who specialise in butterflies and moths (from the insect order ‘Lepidoptera’).

We will be setting up a moth trap, hopefully on two different nights (fingers crossed for good weather) to find out what types of moths we have at Little Comfort (there are at least 2500 different species in the UK so we could be busy!). Moth traps are set up overnight and use light to attract moths which then collect in cavities (often upturned egg cartons). Early the next morning, the egg cartons are inspected and the sleepy moths identified and released.

Moths play a vital role in our ecosystem. Adult moths and their caterpillars are an important food source for all sorts of animals, including bats, birds, toads, lizards, hedgehogs and spiders to name a few. They also play an important role in pollinating flowers, both in the wild landscape and in our fields, pollinating our food crops. The diversity and number of moths in a given area is a great indication of the health of our environment, and one of the reasons we are so keen to do at least annual monitoring at Little Comfort.

As with much of our wildlife, moths have suffered enormously through the use of pesticides, intensive farming practises and air pollution. Climate change is also affecting moths and many are not able to evolve fast enough to keep up with the unprecedented speed that our climate is changing. This is another reason why organic farming (traditional farming without the use of pesticides and other chemicals) is so important, along with minimising our carbon footprint.

If you are interested in helping moths, try some of the following:

Garden organically without the use of pesticides, fertilisers and herbicides;

Tidy your garden a little less! Encourage some ‘wild’ areas and minimise man made surfaces like decking and gravel;

Choose organic and local produce;

Minimise your carbon footprint and air pollution – more on this in a later farm diary!

In the next farm diary we will report on our moth discoveries but until then, here is a suggested beginner’s top 20 moths to get out and find. Good luck!

Exactly two months since our arrival at Little Comfort and summer is well underway! The garden is heavy with juicy raspberries, redcurrants (which Roux hoovers up) gooseberries and blackcurrants. We have been making addictive batches of jam including rhubarb, gooseberry and ginger (our experiment with demerara sugar resulted in a deliciously treacly jam) and red currant and rhubarb, which are going down a treat in the farm shop.

We’ve cut two of the hay meadows to feed our Ruby Red cattle in the deepest darkest winter months. Cutting the hay also helps create a diversity of plant species and prevents the growth of brambles and woodland which would shade out the grass and herbs. We will keep the majority of fields uncut and lightly grazed until late summer.

We continue to appreciate our guests’ help feeding the animals and collecting the eggs. There’s lots to see on the farm at the moment and Jeremy was pleased to have a farm walk described as a ‘lekker tour’ by our guests from South Africa this week (I’m told there are few ways that a South African can better portray their satisfaction than with a passionate “lekker”)!

We have been working closely with our architects to brainstorm ideas for Little Comfort. We are really happy to have the help of Gale and Snowden Architects who specialise in environmental design and permaculture. Their ecologically minded approach to design is refreshing and inspiring (watch this space!).

Our new booking system is up and running and 2018 dates to be released soon! We will be in touch shortly with all who have made provisional bookings for next year. In the mean time, we still have a couple of weeks available for summer holidays and autumn breaks and Caen End is now available until Spring of next year. Do come and see us!

When my wife, Val and I visited our daughter, Jodie and son in law, Jeremy at Little Comfort Farm back in May we were reminded and staggered as others are by the beauty and tranquility of the place. The fact there is a Championship Golf Course less than 5 miles away made me believe this is truly a little heaven, a description often used by visitors. I took the opportunity on that visit to renew my acquaintance with Saunton Golf Course which I hadn’t played for over 10 years. I had a brief chat with the Secretariat and discovered that I could become a country member for £500.00 a year, play as often as I wanted and any playing partners would enjoy half price green fees. Val and I discussed this over a cream tea outside the club house restaurant and I didn’t need much convincing as we watched the smiling faces of the golfers as they returned from both the East and West courses. It was good to see so many people using the restaurant and Val was impressed by the very well stocked Pro Shop and needless to say the credit card was put to good use.

So… when we visited LCF again last week I decided to drag my Son in Law Jeremy and his house guest and good Australian friend Dan for 18 holes around this Links Course. Saunton is only 15 minutes from Little Comfort, the shortest but not necessarily quickest route is via Georgeham. This route gives you views of North Devon which are incredible but the narrowness of the roads can slow you up if you meet other holiday makers or tractors. The route via Braunton and the coast road had us at the golf club in good time and there is plenty of on site parking. I had decided to become a ‘Country Member’ and so I paid my dues which meant Jeremy and Dan played the championship course for £35.00 each. We all hired trolleys (in hindsight buggies might have made more sense in that heat) everything was readily available including a brand new set of Titleist clubs for Dan to hire.

The East course didn’t disappoint and was in superb condition. Some of the holes came back to me but I was still glad of the course guide since there are a lot of blind shots and much long grass. We visited the rough a few times (where Jeremy delighted in finding snakes), but still managed to complete in just over 4 hours, our only stop was for refreshment from the cart en route. How grateful was I that my lovely wife insisted I apply sun cream before playing. My two Australian playing partners didn’t believe the UK sun could be a threat – but they were wrong and suffered!

Never have a couple of beers at the club house been more welcome!

We returned to Little Comfort Farm for cool showers and an opportunity to regail our partners and friends of our day at the ‘links’ as we barbecued some of the farm’s own organic, pasture fed beef steaks, sausages and burgers, overlooking the river and the lake as the sun went down.

On a walk in Little Comfort’s water meadows this morning I stopped to look at a small, gleaming emerald with 6 legs. The pictured green dock beetle, Gastrophysa viridula (De Geer, 1775), is a little lady and very pregnant – if you look closely you can see she has so many eggs they are pushing open her wing cases, she may have over 1000 to lay. Which she may do up to 6 times a year!

The green dock beetle shreds dock leaves before the plant flowers, and as such are a valuable biological control. They don’t shred all of them as their young (the larvae) are entirely dependent on docks to develop properly. A perfect example of nature working in balance. We don’t use any insecticides at Little Comfort Farm, if we did, the insecticide would kill our green gems which to many would mean using herbicides to kill the docks. Altogether a far better solution to leave nature well alone, and see the wildlife flourish.

If you have green dock beetle in your garden and they are eating your rhubarb leaves, the easy solution is to be less rigorous with your weeding! Plant a little nature strip with some dock and they will rapidly move house as they will prefer the dock. Alternatively go on an emerald hunting mission and carefully translocate them to a meadow containing dock, they will be everso grateful and so will your local organic farmers!

Hurrah! After last week’s rain, which certainly helped the grass grow for our cattle and sheep, the sunshine has made a welcome return and we’re looking forward to a heatwave here in North Devon. So it’s just as well that we have lots of our delicious pasture fed, organic Devon Ruby beef in stock – the juicy steaks will be perfect on the barbecue and there’s burgers, sausages and chops too. Or for a morning BBQ you can collect your own organic eggs to go with the organic bacon sold in our farm shop!

Last week we took a delivery of locally produced charcoal from Courage Copse Creatives who are based near Little Comfort in Umberleigh. We love to support local Devon businesses where possible and this charcoal is not only sustainably produced, it’s also very good for barbecuing. Barbecues are provided for each cottage so, with their own private enclosed gardens and dining furniture, we have the perfect recipe for al fresco dining and of course if our holiday cottage guests fancy a beer or a glass of wine there’s no heated discussions over whose turn it is to drive home!

Roux, our Viszla puppy, loves being outside in the sunshine and has really enjoyed the attentions of our guests over the last few weeks. She’s growing so fast, thank goodness she has finally had her course of vaccinations meaning we don’t have to carry her everywhere – it was becoming quite a chore as she is now a big bundle of legs and very wriggly too!

If you haven’t booked to come and stay with us yet and meet Roux (and us too of course!) then there is still some availability in June & July and even a week in Woodlark cottage for the school summer holidays; if you’re looking for a last minute break to catch this amazing weather then what are you waiting for? BOOK NOW!!!!